Democrats frown on highway plan

INDIANAPOLIS -- What Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels calls a creative, aggressive plan to upgrade and expand the state's highway system, some Democrats dismiss as a risky blueprint that would cost motorists hundreds of millions of dollars in new and increased tolls.\nThe plan detailed Monday includes higher fees on the Indiana Toll Road the administration says it will impose next spring, and possibly paying for an extended Interstate 69 from Indianapolis to Evansville with tolls and leasing it to a private company. The I-69 tolls and leasing would require legislative approval, as would leasing the Toll Road.\nDaniels said the plan would boost commerce through a top-tier highway system, but only a fraction could be done "on a business as usual basis."\n"The steps we propose to take or to explore have all been used successfully elsewhere," he said. "We cannot know that every one will succeed here, but if we fail to try we will never know how many jobs we missed out on or dreams we left unfulfilled."\nSeveral Democrats frowned, especially at new or higher tolls or leasing highways.\n"I will never criticize the governor for being timid, but there is a fine line between being bold and being reckless," said state Rep. Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City.\nThe 10-year plan calls for $5.3 billion in new construction, but the Indiana Department of Transportation only has $2.5 billion of that in its budget. Officials recommended several options that could cover the other $2.8 billion to complete projects tagged as priorities.\nThe plan also includes $5.3 billion for maintenance already in the department's budget.\nThere are scores of projects in the plan, such as completing the Hoosier Heartland Corridor from Lafayette to Fort Wayne by 2016 and building two new bridges linking Indiana and Kentucky in the Louisville, Ky., area. Upgrades to U.S. 31, which stretches from South Bend to Indianapolis, would be made in South Bend, Kokomo and Hamilton County.\nThe administration plans to increase fees on the Toll Road, which stretches across northern Indiana from Ohio to Illinois, on its own. The new money would be used to maintain the highway and fund other projects.\nThe Toll Road increases would vary according to entry point and bring in an estimated $770 million over 10 years. The toll for cars traveling the entire 157-mile highway would increase from $4.65 to $8. Trucks would pay $32, up from $14.55.\nDaniels said toll rates have not been raised since 1985 and can no longer pay for maintenance. Of increased toll revenue, $344 million would go to highway projects in toll-road counties, $226 million would go to Toll Road maintenance, and the rest would be used for local roads and projects in northwestern Indiana.\nIf funding sources are approved for I-69, such as the leasing and toll options, construction would begin in 2008 and the plan said it could be completed as early as 2018. The extension is projected to cost $1.8 billion.\nDaniels said he did not support higher state gasoline taxes to help pay for the plan. But some of the new funding recommendations could generate significant amounts of money over the next 10 years, according to the department.\nThe agency estimates that a long-term lease of the Toll Road, which would require legislative approval, would bring in more than $2 billion over the next decade. Redesigning projects could generate another $400 million.\nRepublican state Rep. Cleo Duncan, chairwoman of the House Roads and Transportation Committee, said it was too early to tell how most lawmakers would react to I-69 tolls or leasing arrangements. But she said if the proposals were sent to her committee, they would receive extensive consideration.\nDemocratic Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel said many southwestern Indiana residents preferred an I-69 extension funded through traditional sources, including gasoline taxes. But he said the project needs to move forward.\n"The bottom line is they want to see this highway built, and I think the people of southwestern Indiana would be open to the ideas Gov. Daniels has presented," he said.\nBut House Minority Leader Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, said he wanted more specifics and opposed higher rates on the Toll Road or leasing it.\n"The governor is raising the toll prices and then leasing it to a company that is going to have to make a profit, so you know Hoosier motorists are going to pay even more in the future," Bauer said.